Animal Protection, Law Enforcement, and Occupational Health: Qualitative Action Research Highlights the Urgency of Relational Coordination in a Medico-Legal Borderland.

Across Canada and internationally, laws exist to protect animals and to stop them from becoming public nuisances and threats. The work of officers who enforce local bylaws protects both domestic animals and humans. Despite the importance of this work, research in this area is emergent, but growing. We conducted research with officers mandated to enforce legislation involving animals, with a focus on local bylaw enforcement in the province of Alberta, Canada, which includes the city of Calgary. Some experts regard Calgary as a "model city" for inter-agency collaboration. Based on partnerships with front-line officers, managers, and professional associations in a qualitative multiple-case study, this action-research project evolved towards advocacy for occupational health and safety. Participating officers spoke about the societal benefits of their work with pride, and they presented multiple examples to illustrate how local bylaw enforcement contributes to public safety and community wellbeing. Alarmingly, however, these officers consistently reported resource inadequacies, communication and information gaps, and a culture of normalized disrespect. These findings connect to the concept of "medico-legal borderlands," which became central to this study. As this project unfolded, we seized upon opportunities to improve the officers' working conditions, including the potential of relational coordination to promote the best practices.

Leashes, Litterboxes, and Lifelines: Exploring Volunteer-Based Pet Care Assistance Programs for Older Adults.

At the convergence of population aging and pet-ownership, community stakeholders are well-positioned to support older adults' relationships with companion animals through age-related transitions in health and living arrangements. In this study's setting, a volunteer-based pet care assistance program launched in 2017 to provide practical assistance with pet care for socially disadvantaged, community-dwelling older adults. This case study explored the impacts and feasibility of this and similar programs via (i) an Internet-based environmental scan to compare similar programs and (ii) qualitative interviews with a sampling of diverse community stakeholders (n = 9). A small number of comparable international programs (n = 16) were found. Among these, programs were delivered using a range of funding models; fewer than half involved collaborations across human social services and animal welfare sectors; and none addressed all dimensions of support offered by our local program. Analysis of qualitative interviews highlighted five major themes confirming the value of the volunteer-based approach and the importance of cross-sectoral collaborations in addressing older adults' under-recognized pet care-related needs. Taken together, the findings confirmed the effectiveness of our local program model. Collaborative, cross-sectoral programs that target both human and companion animal well-being hold promise to reduce barriers to pet ownership that many disadvantaged older adults face. This unique approach leverages the health-promoting potential of human-animal relationships in ways that enhance quality of life for individuals, animal welfare, and age-friendliness of communities.

11 years of regular access to subsidized veterinary services is associated with improved dog health and welfare in remote northern communities.

Access to veterinary services can have positive impacts on animal health and welfare, and on human mental and physical health and well-being; however, many communities worldwide lack access to such services. At their request, the 5 communities of the Sahtu Settlement Area, Northwest Territories, Canada, have received annual access to preventive veterinary services through the University of Calgary's Northern Community Health Rotation since 2008. To determine the reach of the program, we conducted a dog census in 2017. We then conducted a chart review of 11 years of dog medical records from 2008 to 2018 to evaluate how the reach of the program, the uptake of veterinary services, and dog population demographics, health and welfare measures changed over the duration of the program. In the chart review, we used either multi-level logistic regression or generalized linear models, to determine how seven variables, including age, sex, breed, body condition, deworming, vaccination, and sterilization status upon clinic entry, changed over the course of program delivery. Our results suggest that program reach, veterinary service uptake, and dog demographic, health and welfare measures improved over time. We observed high rabies vaccination coverage in some communities (48 %-83 % of the dog population) and moderate overall sterilization status (25 %-56 % of the dog population) with female dog sterilization more common than male (75 % of dogs leaving the 2017 clinics, compared to 43 %). Several dog demographic, health, and welfare measures, including age, body condition, and vaccination, deworming, and sterilization status, were significantly better in later years of the program (all p < 0.001). Differences among communities, both in dog population numbers from the 2017 census (40-89 dogs) and in the uptake of veterinary services in 2017 (48 %-83 % of the dog population), were notable. Vaccination uptake was directly related to clinic attendance, but sterilization was impacted by additional factors, including community members' acceptance of the procedure. Some unintended consequences were noted, however, including the potential effect of sterilization on the availability of traditional dog breeds in the communities. Overall, our study findings demonstrate that subsidized veterinary services provided over a regular and extended period of time benefit animal population demographics, health and welfare, and could have positive impacts on human well-being. The framework of community collaboration and long-term commitment developed through this program serves as a model for achieving common health goals among communities in need and veterinary service providers.

From more-than-human solidarity to multi-species biographical value: insights from a veterinary school about ethical dilemmas in One Health promotion.

This article features a partnership between a veterinary school and a charity that aims to enhance the wellbeing of low-income people. Through this partnership, the charity periodically hosts veterinary clinics for clients and their pets. Even as the veterinarians and veterinary students duly examine people's pets, these pop-up clinics aim to help people and their pets. Hence our analysis revolves around the ethics of 'more-than-human solidarity'. By 'more-than-human solidarity', we mean efforts to help others that either center on or that implicate non-human beings. To delve into the ethical and sociological implications of subsidised veterinary services, and to assist with program planning, we conducted several in-depth interviews with veterinarians. Most substantively, we found that the veterinary school's outreach clinics give rise to multi-species biographical value, which is prized as a pedagogical resource for veterinary students. The veterinarians whom we interviewed felt troubled by the extent to which the pop-up clinics ultimately benefited the veterinary school, but also by the shortage of subsidised veterinary services in the vicinity. Based on these interviews and our own reflections, we invite more scholarship on cultural, economic and political influences that shape the lives of human beings and non-human animals alike.

Disruptive Solidarity or Solidarity Disrupted? A Dialogical Narrative Analysis of Economically Vulnerable Older Adults' Efforts to Age in Place with Pets.

Over one-third of older adults in many countries have a companion animal, and pets may harbor health-promoting potential. Few studies have considered pet-ownership in relation to economic vulnerability, and pet-ownership has not been often considered within policy efforts to promote ageing-in-place. We conducted a mixed methods case study to understand perspectives of both community agencies that support ageing-in-place and older adults themselves. A shortage of affordable, appropriate pet-friendly housing emerged as a challenge, even when framed as a legitimate choice and preference for many older adults. In this manuscript, we share the trajectories of three economically vulnerable older adults whose affordable housing needs became entangled with commitments to pets. Guided by dialogical narrative methodology, we offer each narrative as a short vignette to (i) illustrate the extent to which older adults will practice 'more-than-human solidarity' for a pet, even when their own well-being is compromised as a result; and (ii) highlight incongruence between the underlying moral values that shape solidaristic practices of individuals versus solidaristic arrangements that shape affordable housing opportunities. We suggest that housing rules and legislation that disrupt, rather than confirm, more-than-human solidarity may render older adults susceptible to, rather than protected from, deteriorating physical, mental and social well-being. We propose that collective solidaristic practices must reflect and subsume the moral complexity of solidarity practiced by individuals, to enable fair and equitable ageing-in-place.

Towards 'smart cities' as 'healthy cities': health equity in a digital age.

The advent of 'smart' technologies has already transformed urban life, with important consequences for physical, mental, and social well-being. Population health and equity have, however, been conspicuously absent from much of the 'smart cities' research and policy agenda. With this in mind, we argue for a re-conceptualization of 'digital divides' in terms of socio-economic gradients at the individual level, and we draw attention to digitally mediated connections as crucial elements for health promotion at an institutional level and for remedying inequities. We do so in part by reporting on a recent symposium. Overall, we begin to integrate the 'healthy cities' tradition with the current interest in 'smart cities'.

The Spillover Effect of a Flood on Pets and Their People: Implications for Rental Housing.

When disasters strike, companion animals (pets) matter. Emergency planning for them is a key aspect of disaster preparedness, especially considering that people may delay evacuation out of concern for their pets. Temporary boarding options for pets are important; however, caregivers (owners) must ultimately return to permanent housing. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to housing recovery in the disaster literature on pet ownership, and no studies have examined the potential for increased vulnerability among tenants with pets. This study analyzed online rental listings in a city that was severely flooded in 2013. In the following year, demand for pet-friendly rental housing outweighed supply. Landlords frequently stipulated restrictions on the allowable sizes, species, or breeds of pets. Dogs were often banned outright. To keep their pets, prospective tenants needed to exercise flexibility in location and pay higher surcharges. The implications of housing insecurity for tenants with pets have broad relevance, not just in disaster circumstances. Giving up a companion animal to secure housing can negatively impact resilience, whereas living in unsafe environments to avoid pet relinquishment may increase vulnerability.

Are we adequately evaluating subsidized veterinary services? A scoping review.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) both recognize the importance of veterinary services in controlling zoonotic diseases, in preventing human injury, and in protecting the welfare of non-human animals. Furthermore, both organizations recommend regular evaluations of veterinary programs. Accordingly, we conducted a scoping review to collate the available peer-reviewed evaluations of subsidized small animal veterinary services in terms of the effects on animal and public health. We summarized the evaluation methods used, identified key journals in this disparate literature, and identified gaps in knowledge. CAB Abstracts, PubMed, and Scopus were searched, yielding 1441 records published between 2009 and 2016 for initial screening. After examining titles and keywords, abstracts, and finally full articles, we identified 32 relevant papers that evaluated 27 distinct programs. The global distribution was broad, with half of the papers evaluating programs in Africa or Asia, all of which were rabies vaccination programs targeting dogs. Three program evaluation categories were identified: zoonotic disease prevention (9 papers), animal welfare and control (9 papers), and One Health promotion (14 papers). Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the papers used more than one method for collecting data. The most common data sources were questionnaires (22 papers) and administrative records, such as medical charts (21 papers). The most common indicators used for animal health-related program assessments were the number of animals reached by the program (27 papers) and any changes in animal population demographics (22 papers). These indicators were found in all three types of program evaluations (i.e., zoonotic disease prevention, animal welfare/control, and One Health promotion). For public health-related program assessments, the most common indicators consisted of determining barriers to a veterinary program's success (13 papers), followed by costs of a program (11 papers), changes in perceived threats or nuisances (11 papers), and community knowledge of a zoonotic disease (11 papers). The small number of papers identified in this review, n = 32, underscores that comprehensive evaluations of subsidized veterinary services are uncommon in the peer-reviewed literature. Yet, when performed, such evaluations can help guide program delivery and future research. Given the high stakes and the high costs of subsidized veterinary services, greater efforts in program evaluation are warranted.

Pets, Social Participation, and Aging-in-Place: Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to assess whether pet ownership contributes to social participation and life satisfaction for older adults. We used baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) for this purpose, and logistic regression models to estimate associations between social participation and life satisfaction for pet owners and non-owners. One third of all older adults (≥ 65 years, n = 7,474) in our sample reported pet ownership. Pet owners were less likely than non-pet owners to report life satisfaction and to participate frequently in social, recreational, or cultural activities, but pet owners were no less satisfied than were non-owners with their current levels of social participation. For pet owners experiencing barriers to social participation, pets appeared protective of life satisfaction in some circumstances. Both individual characteristics and structural factors linked to the World Health Organization's age-friendly communities framework were relevant to understanding these findings.

Dog-bites, rabies and One Health: Towards improved coordination in research, policy and practice.

Dog-bites and rabies are neglected problems worldwide, notwithstanding recent efforts to raise awareness and to consolidate preventive action. As problems, dog-bites and rabies are entangled with one another, and both align with the concept of One Health. This concept emphasizes interdependence between humans and non-human species in complex socio-ecological systems. Despite intuitive appeal, One Health applications and critiques remain under-developed with respect to social science and social justice. In this article, we report on an ethnographic case-study of policies on dog bites and rabies, with a focus on Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which is widely recognized as a leader in animal-control policies. The fieldwork took place between 2013 and 2016. Our analysis suggests that current policies on rabies prevention may come at the expense of a 'bigger picture' for One Health. In that 'bigger picture,' support is needed to enhance coordination between animal-control and public-health policies. Such coordination has direct relevance for the well-being of children, not least Indigenous children.

Physical activity patterns in urban neighbourhood parks: insights from a multiple case study.

BACKGROUND: Many characteristics of urban parks and neighbourhoods have been linked to patterns of physical activity, yet untangling these relationships to promote increased levels of physical activity presents methodological challenges. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, this article describes patterns of activity within urban parks and the socio-demographic characteristics of park visitors. It also accounts for these patterns in relation to the attributes of parks and their surrounding neighbourhoods. METHODS: A multiple case study was undertaken that incorporated quantitative and qualitative data derived from first-hand observation in a purposive sample of four urban parks. Quantitative data, based on direct observation of visitors' patterns of use and socio-demographic characteristics, were collected using a structured instrument. Differences in frequencies of observed activities and socio-demographic characteristics of visitors were compared between the four parks. Qualitative data, based on direct observation of park characteristics and patterns of use, were generated through digital photography and analyzed through captioning. Quantitative data on patterns in activity and socio-demographic characteristics were synthesized with the qualitative data on park and usage characteristics. RESULTS: A comprehensive portrait of each park in the study was generated. Activity types (sedentary, walking, dog-related, cycling, and play), patterns of park use (time of day, day of week), and socio-demographic characteristics (age group, social group) differed between the four parks. Patterns in park use and activity appeared to be associated with socio-demographic characteristics of the surrounding neighbourhoods as well as the physical and social environmental characteristics specific to each park. CONCLUSIONS: Both park and neighbourhood characteristics influence patterns of use and physical activity within parks. The study findings suggest that socio-demographic characteristics of neighbourhoods surrounding parks need be considered in planning, development and management. Engaging local communities could help planners to develop and update urban parks in ways that reflect the needs and characteristics of community residents and, in turn, encourage visits and more physical activity amongst visitors.

Social inequalities in body weight and physical activity: exploring the role of fitness centers.

Fitness centers are a viable option for physical activity, particularly in climates with significant weather variation. Due to variation in economic and social expressions ofexclusivity, fitness centers may have some relation to social inequalities in physical inactivity and related health outcomes; thus, our objective was to explore this relation. Using publicly available data and guided by Bourdieu's theory of habitus, we classified fitness centers in Calgary, Canada, on three dimensions of exclusivity (economic, social, and appearance). We found that, although some highly exclusive centers exist, most demonstrated low exclusivity based on our dimensions. An overall contribution of centers to inequalities appears to be limited; however, caution is warranted in light of cutbacks to municipal budgets that can have an impact on publicly funded facilities.

Health technology assessment and the media: more compatible than one may think?

While the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) community has acknowledged the importance of public and consumer involvement in the HTA process, very few studies have examined how technology-related findings may be reported by the media to the broader public. This paper compares the content of press articles with the content of three Canadian HTA reports that respectively assess electroconvulsive therapy, first-trimester prenatal screening for Down syndrome, and prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer. We qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed 186 press articles addressing the same technologies. Our results show that beyond stylistic emphasis, there is an important overlap between media coverage of these technologies and the content of HTA reports. Findings also highlight shared interests on which both researchers and journalists could build to enhance the communication of health information to the public.

Alors que le milieu de l'évaluation des technologies de la santé (ETS) reconnaît l'importance du rôle du public et du consommateur dans les processus d'ETS, très peu d'études se sont penchées sur la présentation des résultats au grand public par les médias. Cette étude compare le contenu d'articles de presse avec celui de trois rapports canadiens sur l'ETS, qui évaluent respectivement l'électroconvulsivothérapie, le dépistage prénatal du syndrome de Down au premier trimestre et le test de dépistage de l'antigène prostatique spécifique pour le cancer de la prostate. Nous avons analysé qualitativement et quantitativement 186 articles de presse qui portent sur les mêmes technologies. Nos résultats montrent qu'au-delà des effets de style, il y a un important chevauchement entre la couverture des médias et le contenu des rapports. Les résultats soulignent également qu'il y a des intérêts partagés dont les chercheurs et les journalistes pourraient tirer profit afin de renforcer la communication d'information sur la santé au public.

A media advocacy intervention linking health disparities and food insecurity.

Media advocacy is a well-established strategy for transmitting health messages to the public. This paper discusses a media advocacy intervention that raised issues about how the public interprets messages about the negative effects of poverty on population health. In conjunction with the publication of a manuscript illustrating how income-related food insecurity leads to disparities related to the consumption of a popular food product across Canada (namely, Kraft Dinner®), we launched a media intervention intended to appeal to radio, television, print and Internet journalists. All the media coverage conveyed our intended message that food insecurity is a serious population health problem, confirming that message framing, personal narratives and visual imagery are important in persuading media outlets to carry stories about poverty as a determinant of population health. Among politicians and members of the public (through on-line discussions), the coverage provoked on-message as well as off-message reactions. Population health researchers and health promotion practitioners should anticipate mixed reactions to media advocacy interventions, particularly in light of new Internet technologies. Opposition to media stories regarding the socio-economic determinants of population health can provide new insights into how we might overcome challenges in translating evidence into preventive interventions.

Trans-biopolitics: Complexity in interspecies relations.

This article introduces the concept of trans-biopolitics to account for complexity in the intermingling of animal and human bodies, with particular attention to diseases capable of crossing the species divide from animals to humans. While zoonotic diseases never disappeared, they had re-emerged as pressing concerns by the 21st century. The concept of trans-biopolitics takes into account the power relations inherent in human and nonhuman lives in contemporary global, industrial, and technological formations. More specifically, trans-biopolitics revolves around practices determining whose lives are possible or legitimate to prolong, whose bodies are sacrificed in order to preserve the vitality of other bodies, and whose bodies are sustained yet ultimately rendered insignificant. To illustrate, we examine connections between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and feline spongiform encephalopathy, to show how certain bodies (humans, livestock) are taken into consideration in terms of health and food regulations, whereas other bodies (pets) remain at the periphery. Acknowledging human-animal relations in contemporary technological and global contexts challenges us to rethink ways in which the politics of health continues to evolve.

Characteristics of urban parks associated with park use and physical activity: a review of qualitative research.

Given that recent literature reviews on physical activity in urban parks deliberately excluded qualitative findings, we reviewed qualitative research on this topic informed by a published classification scheme based on quantitative research. Twenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria. These studies relied mainly on semi-structured interviews with individuals or in focus groups; only five studies involved in situ observation. Our synthesis aligns with previous quantitative research showing that attributes including safety, aesthetics, amenities, maintenance, and proximity are important for encouraging park use. Furthermore, our synthesis of qualitative research suggests that perceptions of the social environment entwine inextricably with perceptions of the physical environment. If so, physical attributes of parks as well as perceptions of these attributes (formed in relation to broader social contexts) may influence physical activity patterns. Both qualitative and quantitative methods provide useful information for interpreting such patterns, and in particular, when designing and assessing interventions intended to improve the amount and intensity of physical activity.

How medical specialists appraise three controversial health innovations: scientific, clinical and social arguments.

Medical specialists play a pivotal role in health innovation evaluation and policy making. Their influence derives not only from their expertise, but also from their social status and the power of their professional organisations. Little is known, however, about how medical specialists determine what makes a health innovation desirable and why. Our qualitative study investigated the views of 28 medical specialists and experts from Quebec and Ontario (Canada) on three controversial innovations: electroconvulsive therapy, prostate-specific antigen screening and prenatal screening for Down's syndrome. Our findings indicate that the scientific, clinical and social arguments of medical specialists combine to create a relatively consistent narrative for each innovation. Our comparative analysis suggests that these narratives bring about a 'soft' resolution to controversies, which relies on a more or less tacit understanding of the social desirability of innovations and which sets the stage for their routinisation. Such an unpacking of medical specialists' arguments both for and against new technologies is needed because such arguments may easily be considered authoritative and because there are few forums for debating the social desirability of innovations not generally deemed to be highly controversial.

'We don't want to manage poverty': community groups politicise food insecurity and charitable food donations.

Charitable assistance is a common response to food insecurity in many affluent countries. The coalition featured in this case study is explicitly concerned with social justice, mitigating the potential for charitable assistance to mask the extent of food insecurity, its root causes and its long-term consequences. The coalition structure has assisted community workers in transcending day-to-day routines, so as to reflect on the politics of food insecurity and institutionalised responses to this problem. Coalition members have defined food security as an objective whose achievement will entail comprehensive reform. One noteworthy outcome has been to recommend that member groups not redistribute a number of foodstuffs commonly donated by individuals and corporations. In grappling with a tension between responding to immediate needs for food and addressing the root causes of these needs, community workers have paid attention to public health.

Death, taxes, public opinion, and the Midas touch of Mary Tyler Moore: accounting for promises by politicians to help avert and control diabetes.

Anthropologists have begun to publish ethnographic accounts of policy-making, but few have studied medical or health matters, despite broad acceptance in anthropology that "biopower" permeates contemporary societies. This article presents some findings from an ethnographic study of how diabetes gained recognition as a pressing public health problem in Canada. It underlines the importance of statistics for constituting power within and across nation states. Statistics imbricate people and things distributed across vast distances, but they still need to be generated and invoked by individuals to engender effects--as illustrated in this article by the contributions of researchers, aboriginal leaders, and an American actress, Mary Tyler Moore--in this case, the development of Canadian government policies justified in the name of averting and controlling diabetes. To make sense of these findings, subtle differences between two concepts coined by Michel Foucault, "biopower" and "governmentality," seem significant.

Sweet blood and social suffering: rethinking cause-effect relationships in diabetes, distress, and duress.

I draw upon anthropological engagements with bioscience and embodiment in order to unpack current approaches to defining and preventing diabetes mellitus. The analysis stems from the conviction that carefully considering the symbolic frames through which we conceive of diseases, their origins, their distribution, and their consequences will assist us in planning and implementing interventions to improve population health. I argue that research and interventions focused on the sweetness of blood would benefit from rethinking intersections between diabetes, distress, and duress. In many instances, the lived experience of diabetes is consonant with an understanding of distress (i.e., "social suffering") that expands conventional understandings of population health problems. Diabetes incidence is rising worldwide, but it is rising especially rapidly in Aboriginal and other disadvantaged populations. Notably, diabetes is now three to five times more common in Canada's First Nations population than it is in its non-Aboriginal population. Yet as recently as 50 years ago, diabetes and associated health problems were rare in these groups. To come to grips with such transformations and disparities is to advance the population health research agenda.